2. I have an interview and some art in the latest issue of Sprout Online Magazine that is being released today! It's an issue all about inspiration! Perfect if you're needing a little pick-me-up this month.

Back in 2010, I did this video interview with her about her yearly workbook and planner and we also talked about the body because that was the Creative Every Day monthly theme at the time. It's a silly interview with lots of laughs and some cat bombs from two of my kitties. The sound doesn't match our mouths in the beginning for some reason, but it gets better. I think it's worth listening to because I know body issues come up a lot around this time of year!

One thing I like about Leonie's planner is that she has pages for celebrating all you've accomplished in the previous year (and sometimes it's easy to forget all you've accomplished in the last 12 months) and then lots of room to celebrate all you want to accomplish in the next year. It's important to do both!

Before you move on to 2013, take a moment to go through your year. If you have a blog, that can be a good way to look back, or look back through your digital photos. Look back at the risks you took, the people you met, the places you traveled to, the things (big and small) that you created, the people you touched, and the laughs you had. Make a list of some or all of these things and take a moment (or longer) to acknowledge and celebrate your year.

And if you'd like some extra help with the celebrations and planning, check out Leonie's beautiful planner and have a blast filling it out!

The book is awesome and I'm so excited to be giving away a copy! With all the creative folks who stop by here, I know many of you would benefit from this work. I'll have more details about the giveaway at the end of this post. I also want to be sure you've heard about the free Right-Brainers in Business Video Summit that's taking place this week. Check it out, there's loads of great information being shared.

On to the interview!

Jenn, how did you come up with the idea for the Right Brain Business Plan?

Funny you should ask, Leah, because the first Right-Brain Business Plan was born when I did your fabulous Art Every Day Month challenge for the first time back in 2007! So thanks for creating a space to help the idea blossom. During the last two days of the challenge, I was also working on my business plan and decided that I would use the opportunity to do something creative with it since I had to make art for the day anyway. I collaged my big vision for 2008 and beyond on one side of an accordion book and then the next day I put details such as my marketing plan, products and services, financial goals, and action plan on fun cards on the back. The plan helped me reach my goals the next year and became the inspiration for the e-book, workshops, e-Course, and now the book. Just goes to show you how having a regular creative practice like AEDM can spark fresh new ideas!

What advice do you have for creatives out there looking to start their own business?

You don’t have to go it alone. It can be scary to start your own business and put yourself out there, so make sure you have a circle of support – I like to call them your creative cohorts – who you can lean on and learn from. In fact, Leah, you and I connected through our blogs several years ago and have been great sources of support and encouragement to each other even since.

What is the first step to crafting a Right Brain Business Plan?

Start with getting clear about your vision for your business (and your life). What are you passionate about? What do you and your company stand for? What values are you honoring in your business? What does your success look and feel like? This will serve as the foundation for the rest of your plan.

How do you recommend creative people deal with the overwhelm and fear that can come with putting a business plan together?

Find ways to make it fun. Use colorful markers and sticky notes on fun paper instead of forcing yourself to go straight into a spreadsheet to crunch numbers. Pick one piece of the plan to work on and then jump to another part if you get stuck. Don’t feel like you need to have everything ironed out before moving on to the next piece. Give yourself healthy doses of what I call Left-Brain Chill Pills to quiet your judging mind.

What are the benefits of crafting your business plan in this way?

People who have unsuccessfully tried to do a traditional business plan have actually completed a Right-Brain Business Plan because they had fun with it. So actually finishing a plan (and a plan that you’re totally jazzed about and that you look at again and again) is a huge benefit. This RBBP approach allows you to think outside the box and make your plan in any format that tickles your fancy (I’ve seen a bracelet, a paper plate mobile, and even a plan in a paint bucket decorated with a feather boa!).

Above is the fabulous leather cuff bracelet created by Bevla Reeves of Hair Conspiracy.

What are some of your favorite creative business planning tools and resources?

So many. Basic things like sticky notes and colorful markers (Mr. Sketch and Staedtler triplus fineliner are my faves). I’ve been using the Levenger Circa notebooks for more than a decade – it’s an amazing cross between a spiral notebook and three-ring binder. I also love Levenger’s Oasis Concept Pad for brainstorming ideas. My friend Lisa Sonora Beam’s book The Creative Entrepreneur is also one of my favorite creative business planning resources.

How do you stay creatively inspired in your business?

I like to connect with other creative entrepreneurs and see what they’re up to. I work with a coach who helps me innovate and try new things. I look for ways to blend my various interests to form new ideas. I practice self-care Fridays so that I refuel my creative spirit. I love to read.

My Creative Spiritual Revolutionary interview with Laura Hollick for Soul Art TV is now up! Laura asks some great questions about what inspired me to start blogging and how blogging has helped boost my art career. You can watch our interview here.

Be sure to check out all of Laura's fabulous Soul Art TV interviews with creatives while you're at it!

The show features interviews with Revolutionary Leaders with inspirational insights to ignite your own Creative Spiritual Revolution. Check out the launch here and stay tuned for my own interview on the show!

We talked about dealing with the excuse of "not enough time," some of the beautiful things I've seen happen during Art Every Day Month, and how a creative practice has impacted my life. Thank you Britt, I enjoyed speaking with you! If you haven't already, check out the Arts and Healing Network website. It's full of amazing information and resources.

p.s. I'm loving hearing about how you have prepared or are preparing for Art Every Day Month in yesterday's post. Keep the comments coming!

I'm so thrilled to be able to share my chat with the fabulous, Jennifer Lee! Jennifer is an amazing coach, writer, artist, and author of a soon to be published book. And she's my dear friend!

Listen in as we talk about the process of Intuitive Painting, how you can try it out for yourself, and how the right brain and intuition interact. Click below to listen here or right-click (ctrl-click on a Mac) to save to your computer and listen to later.

Jenn's Right Brain Business Plan e-course is starting up again on May 17th and I highly recommend it for any creative entrepreneurs out there who want to put a creative spin on a task that can feel a bit intimidating. Jenn is a great guide and coach and the plans her students have created are so cool!

I had the pleasure of speaking with the fabulous Bridget Pilloud this week and I'm so thrilled to be able to share it with you! Bridget is an Intuitive, Healer, Teacher, Writer, and all around awesome person.

Bridget has some great tips and tools to share about how to connect with your intuition in your everyday life and also as you create art! I especially loved her suggestion to "let your brain take a back seat" as you create. And of course the impromptu visit from Leo the cat was fun too! You can listen to the interview below or right-click (ctrl-click on a Mac) to save to your computer and listen to later.

Bridget is planning an exciting year-long Field Expedition to the Energetic Body to start in June! Keep up to date with this and all the other amazing things Bridget is up to at her blog, Voila and follow her on Twitter @intuitivebridge.

Yesterday I had the pleasure of speaking with the lovely, Silky Hart, an Expressive Arts therapist who I've come to know (and adore!) through blogging. You can listen to our chat here by clicking on the link below or right-click (ctrl-click on a Mac) to save to your computer.

I was curious about some of the ways you might use Expressive Arts to explore the theme of stories and Silky had some fabulous examples of how it could be utilized, using work such as Playback Theater and the Five Rhythms. As another example of using her work to explore stories, Silky is generously offering a gorgeous, free pdf workbook, "Writing the New Story of Your Life: A story writing playbook to awaken who you really are." Wow, I've taken a look at it, and it's awesome! Definitely a fabulously creative way to play with your stories and work on creating new ones.

I'm so excited to be able to share this chat with the super sweet and creative, Kathryn Antyr! I've known Kathryn through the world of blogging for some time now, but this was the first time we'd had a chance to speak. And oh, was it fun! Kathryn is bursting with wisdom and insights about the creative process and the magic of telling stories through art.

I could relate so much to her collage-making process of letting go and allowing intuitive feelings to guide the process. I loved the way she talked about using art to re-tell our stories and I also loved how Kathryn is using the Hero's Journey as a framework in her Storytelling + Collage online workshop, What a beautiful idea!

Learn more about Kathryn's beautiful process by listening in to the interview below. Click the link below to listen or right-click (ctrl-click on a Mac) to save it to your computer and listen to later.

*Giveaway!* Kathryn has generously offered to give away one spot in her upcoming Storytelling + Collage online workshop! Leave a comment on this post by Sunday March 21st at noon EDT to enter and I'll announce the winner on Monday the 22nd. Good luck!